I honestly believe that while Ireland have a decent team now we should be enjoying a golden period in our footballing history by the time of the next European championships comes around. I base this claim because of the from the amount of young Irish talent that is starting to make waves across the channel.
So how good will Ireland be then if we do qualify for the next European Championships? To try and answer this question I've compiled a list of a probable team Ireland might field in such a competition. I think most will agree that it looks to be a far better unit than the one we currently can assemble (also there's no Gary Doherty in the squad).
Goalkeeper
Shay Given - Currently One of our few world class performers. In 2008 he will be 32 but he should still be one of the best keepers in the Premiership. He could even be playing for a better club by 2008 (Arsenal maybe?).
Right Back
Steve Finnan - Finnan will be 32 by the next European Championships but should still be playing at the top level anwill still be as a consistent performer for us as he has been in recent years. A top quality full back.
Centre Back
Richard Dunne - Dunne will be 28 at the time. Hopefully he will have continued to improve over the next three years at the same level that we've seen in the past three but even if he doesn't get any better he's still a very decent central defender. He does lack a bit of pace though so a quicker alternative coming through would be nice to have.
Paul McShane - I've been very impressed by Mc Shane during his time at Brighton eventhough I've always known he had potential. At 19 he looks like one of our most promising young players and in three years he could easily be an established regular at either United or another Premiership team.
Left Back
John O'Shea - Unfortunately O'Shea will probably still be a first team player as there's no serious contenders on the horizon for the left back position. I see him as the single weak link in the team though hopefully he'll have improved in the 3 years as we've been expecting him to do for so long (instead he's gone backwards if anything).
Central Midfield
Joey O'Brien - Has the potential to be a top quality central midfield player. Only 19 and already breaking into the Bolton first team where he's playing with some of the best midfielders in Europe (Okocha and Nakata). I watched him against Lokomotiv Plovdiv yesterday in the Uefa Cup and while Bolton were poor he was one of their better players and wasn't afraid to stick his foot in. He won the ball on countless occasions and I didn't notice him losing possession once. I reckon he'll only get better and better if he can make himself a regular in Big Sam's team.
Stephen Ireland - Ireland can establish himself as one of the best young players in the Premiership by the end of this season. He's played a few games for Man City already and when I've seen him he looks to be at another level than the players around him. The Man City fans have a very high opinion of him and from reading their forums they would like to see him as regular starter in the team at the expense of Reyna or Sun Jihai. Ireland and O'Brien would make a formidable central midfield pairing with the perfect blend of solidity and creativity.
Left Midfield
Damian Duff - Will still be around in three years time though at 29 he might not be quite the player he is now as he'll probably have lost a bit of pace. Should still be one of our most influential and talented players though.
Right Midfield
Andy Reid - Hasn't exactly set the world alight since his move to Tottenham but on his day he's still one of our most skillful and creative players. He's still young and new to the Premiership so I'd expect him to be an improved player in 3 years time when he's 25.
Strikers
Robbie Keane - Our record goalscorer will only be 27 and will be in his prime. Hopefully he'll be playing regular Premiership football at the time.
Stephen Elliot - Looks a player when he's played as a striker and not out on the wing as Mc Carthy has opted to do on occasion this season. Still young so plenty of time to develop his undoubted talent. He'll be 24 by Euro 2008 and should have improved considerably once he gets a few more seasons of top flight football behind him.
Squad members:
GoalKeepers:
Shane Supple
Paddy Kenny
Defenders:
Stephen Kelly
Stephen Carr
Andy O'Brien
Paddy Mc Carthy
Midfielders:
Owen Garvan
Aidan Mc Geady
Jay Tabb
Matt Holland
Forwards:
Kevin Doyle
Anthony Stokes
This is all hypothetical of course but I've never seen as many young, exciting Irish players breaking through in such a short period of time. We've had the odd one here and there over the years, many of whom's reputations have been built up to unreasonable levels and have then failed to meet those unrealistic standards. Miller, Mc Phail, Thornton and Kennedy immediately spring to mind. Even with the obvious talent around at the moment we can expect that with another 3 years to go another gem or two should be unearthed.
I might head down to Paddy Power now to see what odds I can get on Ireland for Euro 2008. It's money in the bank.
